Power Sector Records Progressive Week as Tegbe Commissions Transformer Projects Across Four Lagos Substations

Power Sector Records Progressive Week as Tegbe Commissions Transformer Projects Across Four Lagos Substations

By Raphael Ekpang

Lagos (Core Reporters) The Minister of Power, Engr. Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, has commissioned major transformer projects across four Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) substations in Lagos State, adding a combined 840MVA of new transformer capacity to the transmission network and strengthening bulk electricity supply to the state’s major industrial, commercial and residential corridors.

The projects, commissioned on Monday, August 17, and Tuesday, August 18, 2026, comprise two 60MVA transformers at the Apapa Transmission Substation, two 100MVA transformers at the Ijora Transmission Substation, a 100MVA transformer at the Alausa Transmission Substation, and a 300MVA transformer alongside two 60MVA transformers at the Lekki Transmission Substation.

The interventions add 540MVA of transformer capacity at the 132kV level, with the capability to wheel approximately 432MW, and a further 300MVA at the 330kV level, with the capacity to transmit approximately 240MW within the TCN network in Lagos.

The projects form part of the Federal Government’s broader effort to eliminate transmission constraints, improve electricity reliability and direct power infrastructure towards areas where it can unlock industrial production, investment, employment and economic growth.

Speaking during the commissioning ceremonies, Minister Tegbe said the projects represented more than the installation of new equipment.

“They represent targeted investments in capacity for businesses to grow, capacity for industries to produce, and capacity for communities to prosper,” he said.

Lekki Substation Capacity Doubles

At the Lekki Transmission Substation on Tuesday, August 18, the Minister commissioned one 300MVA, 330/132/33kV transformer and two 60MVA, 132/33kV transformers.

The intervention has effectively doubled the transformation capacity of the Lekki 330/132/33kV Transmission Substation, one of the critical electricity assets serving one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing economic corridors.

At the 330/132kV level, transformer capacity has increased from 300MVA to 600MVA, equivalent to approximately 480MW, while capacity at the 132/33kV level has risen from 120MVA to 240MVA, equivalent to approximately 192MW.

The project also delivered nine new 33kV feeders to improve the evacuation and distribution of bulk power into the network of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC).

According to Tegbe, the additional capacity will improve the availability and reliability of bulk electricity supplied to EKEDC for onward distribution to industries, businesses and households across Lekki and its environs.

He stressed that the nine new feeders were essential to ensuring that the additional transformation capacity was effectively evacuated and that the investment did not become stranded.

“Today, we are commissioning the capacity for businesses to grow; capacity for industries to produce; capacity for communities to prosper; and capacity for one of the fastest-growing economic corridors in our country to continue to expand without electricity infrastructure becoming a brake on its progress,” the Minister said.

He added that Lekki represented the Nigeria the Federal Government was working to build — “more industrial, more commercially active, more connected to global markets and increasingly attractive to domestic and international capital.”

“As investment flows into a corridor such as this, electricity infrastructure cannot be an afterthought,” he said.

Alausa Gets Additional 100MVA Transformer

At the Alausa Transmission Substation, Tegbe also commissioned a new 100MVA, 132/33kV transformer.

The intervention increased the substation’s total transformation capacity from 135MVA to 205MVA, equivalent to approximately 164MW, while increasing the quantum of bulk power available to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) by about 80MW for onward distribution to consumers within its franchise area.

The Minister described the Alausa project as a deliberate intervention to strengthen strategic locations, including government institutions, industrial estates, factories, markets and other centres of economic activity.

“Ikeja is where the ambition of Nigeria meets the industrious nature of Nigerians,” he said.

Tegbe said the Lekki and Alausa projects reflected a core principle guiding the power sector under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: directing electricity infrastructure towards areas where reliable power can unlock production, investment, employment and economic value.

“What we are witnessing in Lekki, Alausa and across the country is part of a broader effort to strengthen transmission infrastructure nationwide. Our transmission challenges did not emerge overnight, and they will not disappear through one intervention,” he said.

“Our approach is deliberate: Identify the bottleneck. Invest in it. Remove the constraint. Unlock the capacity.”

He added that the Federal Government would continue to strengthen transmission infrastructure where it constrains available power, expand substations where additional capacity is required, rehabilitate or replace ageing equipment and prioritise investments in growing industrial and commercial corridors.

Apapa Gets 2x60MVA GIS Transformers

Earlier on Monday, August 17, the Minister commissioned a 2x60MVA Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) substation at the Apapa Transmission Substation.

The project was delivered by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under its Official Development Assistance programme.

The facility comprises modern gas-insulated switchgear, two 60MVA, 132/33kV power transformers, a new control building, modern protection and control systems, Substation Automation Systems and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) infrastructure.

The project is expected to improve the operation and monitoring of the substation while increasing bulk power availability within the Apapa axis by approximately 96MW.

The intervention will particularly support electricity supply to Apapa Causeway, Ijora, Amukoko, Ajegunle, Apapa Wharf, Tin Can Island and other commercial and industrial areas within the EKEDC franchise.

Ijora Upgrade Adds 112MW Transmission Capacity

Also commissioned on Monday was the upgrade of the Ijora Transmission Substation.

The project involved the replacement of two existing 30MVA transformers with two modern 100MVA, 132/33kV transformers.

The upgrade has increased the total installed capacity of the Ijora substation from 90MVA to 230MVA, equivalent to approximately 184MW, delivering an additional 112MW of transmission capacity.

According to the Minister, the intervention will significantly improve electricity supply to Ijora, Costain, Oyingbo, Customs and adjoining communities, while supporting commercial activities and millions of electricity consumers within the EKEDC franchise area.

Tegbe said the projects were not the end of the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen the transmission network but another step towards building an electricity system capable of supporting industrial competitiveness and economic growth.

“The Federal Government’s ambition is larger than the projects commissioned today. We are building towards a Nigeria where electricity is not merely a social service, but the foundation for industrial competitiveness and economic growth, and where investment decisions are driven by opportunity rather than infrastructure constraints,” he said.

TCN: Projects Will Strengthen Lagos Transmission Network

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, said the four substation interventions would significantly improve power transmission across Lagos State.

At the Apapa Transmission Substation, Abdulaziz said the two new 60MVA GIS transformers would substantially increase the quantum of bulk power available to EKEDC for onward distribution to customers and businesses within Apapa and adjoining commercial areas.

He said the project would also improve the quality and reliability of electricity supply while supporting economic activities in one of Lagos’ major industrial corridors.

At Alausa, the TCN boss said the upgrade, executed by Shanghai Electric Ltd. under a World Bank-funded initiative that commenced in January 2021, would provide more stable and reliable electricity to at least 70,000 residents in Alausa and adjoining areas through IKEDC.

He explained that the project would increase the volume of bulk power TCN could wheel to distribution load centres, thereby strengthening grid stability and improving electricity delivery to consumers.

Abdulaziz said the four projects demonstrated TCN’s commitment to modernising Nigeria’s transmission infrastructure, reducing technical losses and developing a network capable of meeting the country’s growing bulk electricity demand.

He appealed for additional grant support for other critical sections of the transmission network, noting that such interventions would enable TCN to sustain and optimise transmission operations nationwide.

He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Minister of Power Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, the Lagos State Government, JICA, the World Bank, contractors, TCN engineers and other stakeholders for their support in delivering the projects.

According to him, the upgrades align with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Federal Government’s efforts to achieve a more stable and reliable electricity supply.

With the 840MVA of new transformer capacity now in service, TCN said more bulk power would be available for EKEDC and IKEDC to offtake for industries, businesses and households within their respective franchise areas.

The Federal Government and TCN have also completed similar transmission projects in other parts of the country, which are expected to be commissioned in due course as part of the ongoing systematic expansion and modernisation of Nigeria’s national transmission network.